Orlando to Tennessee: Advices to a foreigner

Hi!

I'm planning my first trip. I have many questions and by searching on Google, I found some tips on this page and decided to ask my questions.

First of all, I don't have much money. I want to save as much as possible, as I'm traveling from Orlando with mom and we want to spend July in Tennesse, visiting these cities: Memphis and New Orleans (10 days), Nashville (7 days), and Chattanooga (2 days). I'm thinking about 2-3 weeks. We don't mind taking buses.

We cant drive and it will be a road trip by bus and Uber apps.

Considering the money issue, here are some of my doubts:
1) How much should I have for air and road transportation?
2) Is it cheaper to arrive in Memphis by bus or plane (from Orlando)?
3) Is it cheaper to go to Orlando (from Chattanooga) by bus or plane?
4) What are the cheapest (but cool) places to visit in those cities? The Lookout Mountain, Graceland and French street are already on my wishlist. Keep in mind that she is a senior and will not do anything radical (she liked walking though).
5) Please, we need cheap (and safe! we cant get sick lol) places to eat. We dont mind having Mc Donalds most of the days but we will be obviously tired of it at some point lol
6) What is the best place to see the Fireworks? Memphis or New Orleans? Where exactly?
7) How far (and expensive) is it to go from Memphis to New Orleans? Is train really the best option?
8)Are there apps to take car rides besides Uber and Lyft?
9) Is it too risky to rent rooms to sleep when I get in those cities?
10) Is there a group, a road trip company or whatever that could help us do this trip, as we cant drive?

These are the questions that I remember so far... I would be glad if anyone could help. Thanks in advance!

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!/Train

If you don't have or cant' drive a car and money is your major concern, then Bus/Train are essentially your only options. The first thing I'd do is arrange your trip so that it's a true loop without any backtracking. That would mean Orlando - New Orleans - Memphis - Nashville - Chattanooga - Orlando or, of course, the other way round. Now there is Amtrak service between Orlando and New Orleans, and between New Orleans and Memphis, but tickets will cost roughly six times as much for the train as a bus. Between Memphis and Orlando, including Nashville and Chattanooga, it's going to have to be Greyhound or Trailways. Where you can get a train, the basic costs of train or bus are roughly equivalent, so ease of travel (I'd pick the train) or schedule would probably be your deciding factors.

Sticking to public transportation, pretty much leaves you with only downtowns available to you. Yes, I suppose you could Uber/Lyft/rideshare, but trying to get well outside a city such as Lookout Mountain could prove expensive. What I'd suggest then is that you find where the terminals are in each of the cities you want to visit and concentrate on what's within walking distance of those terminals, particularly a motel/hotel. Then plan your trip around those venues rather than get your heart set on something that's just too far/expensive to get to.

AZBuck

You're spending a lot of time in a couple major cities. I imagine your biggest expense is going to be lodging, especially if you plan on staying downtown. Costs will be significantly less if you are outside of the city, but then transportation will be a big problem.

Exactly how do you expect to spend your time in each city?

One thing to consider would be booking some bus tours. They might pick you up in the suburbs. Also check for discounts on sites such as Groupon. I've saved a considerable amount of money and also found new places to go and things to see.

You need to look out for possible group tours that operates those cities. I would be cheaper and easier to go around being in a tour with a service.